- Paperback: 274 pages
- Publisher: Createspace (8 Sep 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1463594372
- ISBN-13: 978-1463594374
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,773,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Imitation of Patsy Burke
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
It took me a little while to get into The Imitation of Patsy Burke - both the storyline and the style. The story is an in-depth character study and the story unfolds through the various voices in Patsy's head as it tries to reconcile the morning after with recollections of the afternoon and night before and the back story to the artist's life. At first, I found the style somewhat awkward and contrived, but as the story progressed the style made more sense and I got drawn further and further into the narrative and by the end I was truly hooked, staying up way past when I would normally shut a book and turn off the lights, devouring pages until I reached the end. And a very nicely resolved end it is too, both somewhat inevitable and slightly out of left field. Whilst Burke is a character for which one feels little sympathy, the characterization and its unfolding is very well done, with the story well layered. The voices in Patsy's head each have a distinctive voice and message and their bickering has an authentic tone (if voices in a head can have such a thing). The prose is nicely expressive throughout and is peppered with philosophical insights. If you like in-depth characterization, then The Imitation of Patsy Burke will provide good, if a little unusual, reading fodder.
Format:Paperback
I always know when my husband is reading a good book as its always with him wherever he goes, he sits in the lounge with it instead of watching the tv, he goes to bed early to read, its as if the book is glued to him. This is what happened as soon as he started to read this book.
His review
A Must Read...Remarkable how the author, through exploring his past, he opens his conscious to the reader in a manner which draws the reader into his alter egos and inner voices.
The book challenges the readers own egos and inner voices and in a clever way asks the reader if they have the same issues, with their past, love and insecurities.
With the startling revelation at the end of the book, the author reveals who he really thinks he is.
"One of the best books I have read this year in the way the author draws you into his life and questions our existence, once started I couldn't put it down."
His review
A Must Read...Remarkable how the author, through exploring his past, he opens his conscious to the reader in a manner which draws the reader into his alter egos and inner voices.
The book challenges the readers own egos and inner voices and in a clever way asks the reader if they have the same issues, with their past, love and insecurities.
With the startling revelation at the end of the book, the author reveals who he really thinks he is.
"One of the best books I have read this year in the way the author draws you into his life and questions our existence, once started I couldn't put it down."
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The Imitation of Patsy Burke
28 Dec 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Patsy Burke is a famed sculptor, an Irishman living in Paris. Back in the days of the three-cornered hat the word for him would have been libertine. He is a womanizer, a drunk, a raging bull who has left a trail of teeth and bitten-off ears on the floors of the most dangerous bars in Paris. One day he awakes to find himself bloody after a night of which he has no memory. He has only the information that someone was killed.
The novel is told by the variously named and contradictory "voices" in Burke's head ranging from the good altar boy to the Romantic to his Nietzchean inner satyr to his inner Jack the Ripper and beyond. These are voices that seek to control him, reubke him, or just observe him. Will the bloody truth about that night lead to his ultimate transformation, the redemption to cleanse the poisoning of his art, or a final descent into utter madness? No simple interpretation of where this goes is recommended.
This is a trip where the ride is the main attraction. Gaynard prodigiously tours the highs and lows of Paris, Europe, religions, Marxism, and anywhere else a restless intellect might travel. The writing is brilliant, tactile in its detail, both intellectual and sweaty. There is a bar fight written in a one-page sentence that reads like it was directed by Fellini in one long shot. Sex and violence are this novel's two food groups and this is a buffet. This is airport reading only if you're flying to Sodom.
The novel is told by the variously named and contradictory "voices" in Burke's head ranging from the good altar boy to the Romantic to his Nietzchean inner satyr to his inner Jack the Ripper and beyond. These are voices that seek to control him, reubke him, or just observe him. Will the bloody truth about that night lead to his ultimate transformation, the redemption to cleanse the poisoning of his art, or a final descent into utter madness? No simple interpretation of where this goes is recommended.
This is a trip where the ride is the main attraction. Gaynard prodigiously tours the highs and lows of Paris, Europe, religions, Marxism, and anywhere else a restless intellect might travel. The writing is brilliant, tactile in its detail, both intellectual and sweaty. There is a bar fight written in a one-page sentence that reads like it was directed by Fellini in one long shot. Sex and violence are this novel's two food groups and this is a buffet. This is airport reading only if you're flying to Sodom.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A Great Read!
13 Nov 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
This book immediately pulls you into to the twisted world of Patsy Burke, and keeps you engrossed until the end. The inner voices of Irish artist guide the reader to piece together the unknown events of the night before, those that left Patsy blooded and bruised in a cheap Paris motel room. As the reader journeys through the night and deeper into Patsy's mind, the reader is also forced to examine his own inner voices and urges.
If you are easily offended, especially when it comes to religion, language, or sex, this book is not a good fit for you. Otherwise, this book takes you on a trip into the human mind. It captures your attention in the opening pages and contains enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged in the story until the surprising end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.
If you are easily offended, especially when it comes to religion, language, or sex, this book is not a good fit for you. Otherwise, this book takes you on a trip into the human mind. It captures your attention in the opening pages and contains enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged in the story until the surprising end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A Thoroughly Enjoyable Romp
1 Nov 2011
Format:Paperback
A thoroughly enjoyable romp by a sadistic author for the masochist reader. John J. Gaynard spares nothing as sacred -- nor rational for that matter -- as we trod though the life of Patsy Burke and his legion of voices. The Imitation of Patsy Burke is raw, depraved emotional responses revealing that basic animal instinct society has long sought to eradicate from the human psyche is, indeed, alive and well. Gaynard's work demonstrates just how faulty the result has been. Not a book for those seeking a fast pace, action thrilled adrenaline rush. No, this book holds a mirror up to humanity and says, "See! I told you so!" Still, it is well worth the read. I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.
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